The Codec Call

Another month flies past and we’ve got our act together and made our Codec Call podcast in a timely fashion… must be Christmas!  This month we’re going to natter at you about: * Call of Duty: Black Ops III * Star Wars: Battlefront * Fallout 4 * The secrets behind the Black Ops III loading screens (spoiler-free!) * Dying Light season pass price increase * #CodecMomentum update * and we’ve a Christmassy themed quiz!      On top of these great insights there’s also the winner of our handheld Mega Drive, and we need your input too: * We want to give Andy some real life Codec Momentum so that he can buy suit jackets – what can you suggest he sets as a target?  There must be something trophy related he can focus on. * Co-op gaming: is it dead?  What’s your view on sitting on the couch with friends and blasting each other? Send us your thoughts to contact-us@codecmoments.com or in multiple tweets to @CodecMoments, and lend Andy some encouragement @clinicalandy, and we’ll include everything we can in the next Codec Call. On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me:   A target in a jacuzzi.   On the second day of Christmas my true love gave to me: Two AT-ATs,   And a target in a jacuzzi.   On the third day of Christmas my true love gave to me: Three PAL keys, Two AT-ATs,   And a target in a jacuzzi.   On the fourth day of Christmas my true love gave to me: Four football fodder, Three PAL keys, Two AT-ATs,   And a target in a jacuzzi.   On the fifth day of Christmas my true love gave to me: Five Bonerfarts, Four football fodder, Three PAL keys, Two AT-ATs,   And a target in a jacuzzi.   On the sixth day of Christmas my true love gave to me:   Six limbs a slicing, Five Bonerfarts, Four football fodder, Three PAL keys, Two AT-ATs,   And a target in a jacuzzi.   On the seventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me: Seven double o’s, Six limbs a slicing, Five Bonerfarts, Four football fodder, Three PAL keys, Two AT-ATs,   And a target in a jacuzzi.   On the eighth day of Christmas my true love gave to me Eight Tiki babies, Seven double o’s, Six limbs a slicing, Five Bonerfarts, Four football fodder, Three PAL keys, Two AT-ATs,   And a target in a jacuzzi.   On the ninth day of Christmas my true love gave to me:   Nine Uber Tricks, Eight Tiki babies, Seven double o’s, Six limbs a slicing, Five Bonerfarts, Four football fodder, Three PAL keys, Two AT-ATs,   And a target in a jacuzzi.   On the tenth day of Christmas my true love gave to me: Ten snowmobiles chasing,   Nine Uber Tricks,

It’s time for another Codec Call and in Episode XV Andy and Matt talk about: * What they thought about the end of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain (relatively spoiler-free), * The Phantom Menace and Sith Master Jar Jar Binks, * Spending $30,000 on a game, * The latest in vape-rware (you’ll get how bad that pun is when you listen), * A bunch of reviews (WRC 5, Mad Max, Dishonored Definitive Edition, PixelJunk Shooter Ultimate (PC), DRIVECLUB BIKES), * The woes of Call of Duty: Black Ops III, * Rainbow 6 Siege and Star Wars Battlefront beta fun, * And the best quiz ever!        You can also win your very own handheld Sega Mega Drive!  Simply Tweet, Facebook, Email or carrier pigeon us your answer to: Which classic Mega Drive game contained the song “Smooth Criminal” by Michael Jackson? The competition closes at the end of November and our usual terms and conditions apply.  Now, who’s for some Total Eclipse of the Heart? Credit to here for this cracking flowchart.

In episode XIV of the Codec Call podcast: * Andy is mostly phoning it in whilst he plays his September #CodecMomentum game, Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture, which he’s left until the eleventh hour… * Professor Kelvin Harris and Brian review Big Pharma from Twice Circled Games (a solid 7/10 from them) * Andy gives a quick update on September’s #CodecMomentum * Peter Daish talks about his game (that we recently reviewed) CollectOrb, via the medium of the Prof’s PodBot – you can reach Peter through @Peter_Daish or @DaishGames      If you’ve got any comments about the show then let us know below or through the usual channels (Facebook, Twitter, semaphore). Got a game you know you should have finished and need some oomph to get your motivation back?  Join in our Codec Momentum for September and let us know what you’re going to remove from that back catalogue building on your shelf.  Feeling extra cocky… why not make a #PlatinumPledge?  Successfully attain all trophies/achievements in a game and not only to you make it on to the Codec Moments wall of fame, we’ll even send you one of these exclusive, limited badges!

In this episode of the Codec Call, Andy and Matt: * Discuss a disk drive orchestra, the perils of Windows 10 and My Roommate Sonic… * Announce the winner of our Metal Gear Solid shot glasses competition * Provide the final update for August’s #CodecMomentum * and talk about their first impressions of MGS V.        If you’ve got any comments about the show then let us know below or through the usual channels (Facebook, Twitter, semaphore). Got a game you know you should have finished and need some oomph to get your motivation back?  Join in our Codec Momentum for September and let us know what you’re going to remove from that back catalogue building on your shelf.  Feeling extra cocky… why not make a #PlatinumPledge?  Successfully attain all trophies/achievements in a game and not only to you make it on to the Codec Moments wall of fame, we’ll even send you one of these exclusive, limited badges!

In this episode of the Codec Call, Andy: * talks all things MGS V with Tech Fixation’s Dexter Jaekel * gets excited about cute puppies(?!) * chats gaming collectables with Stuart Cullen from Console Ninjas * listens live as a 200,000 gamerscore is broken * and let’s us all know what’s happening with August’s #CodecMomentum      If you’ve got any comments about the show then let us know below or through the usual channels (Facebook, Twitter, semaphore).  To be in with the chance to win the Metal Gear Solid shot glasses remember to get us your suggestion for the MGS V platinum trophy by midnight on 31st August 2015, and the usual Codec Moments terms and conditions apply. Got a game you know you should have finished and need some oomph to get your motivation back?  Join in our Codec Momentum for September and let us know what you’re going to remove from that back catalogue building on your shelf.  Feeling extra cocky… why not make a #PlatinumPledge?  Successfully attain all trophies/achievements in a game and not only to you make it on to the Codec Moments wall of fame, we’ll even send you one of these exclusive, limited badges!

In Episode XII Andy talks about Dinklebot, the formation of Alphabet by the creators of Google and he is joined by Connor from JoypadAndMe.com to talk about his efforts in the Year of Shame Challenge 3.  The Prof talks to Peter Malamud Smith about a huge free update to the enchanting mobile game, Satellina.      Don’t forget to tweet us your suggestion for what the Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain Platinum Trophy should be called.  You could win these awesome MGS shot glasses if you do!* Finally don’t forget to join in the #CodecMomentum and #PlatinumPledge fun by telling us what game you are going to knock off your pile of shame this month and then tweeting us a picture of your glorious victory!  For your efforts you could take home a Blue Peter style Codec Moments Badge, which gets you free entry to Hideo Kojima’s house on Sundays after midnight.** If you’re committed enough to go one step further and platinum the game, you will be lucky enough to receive the coveted Codec Moments Platinum badge too! *Usual Terms and Conditions apply. **Does not actually get you free entry to Hideo Kojima’s house, at any time.

It’s August.  The sun’s out (mostly).  Games are thin on the ground.  Not much to talk about then?  We can still find something!  In this edition of The Codec Call, Andy and Matt discuss the what they’ve been playing; take a look at some bizarre news stories; have a quiz; set a challenge to all the listeners; and talk lots of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain.      If you want to win the shot glasses mentioned in the podcast (and pictured below), then let us know what you think the platinum trophy for MGS V should be called via Twitter, Facebook, email, or sky-writing.  We’ll pick the best suggestion and name the winner here and on social media.  Our usual terms and conditions apply, and the closing date is 31st August 2015. What about joining us in finishing those games in our piles of shame?  Let us know your choice on Twitter using #CodecMomentum, or push the boat out and really impress us with #PlatinumPledge.  We’re sure we can find something to send your way if you live up to your promises… If you’ve any comments about this month’s Codec Call, interesting questions, strange news stories, or even just want a shout out, get in touch via the comments or the usual channels.  We can’t wait to hear from you!

We love Hitman… nothing more, nothing less than that.  Some of the best moments of our gaming years have been spent plotting and executing the perfect assassination in IO Interactive’s murder simulator.  Well, that’s not entirely true.  We spent a lot of time plotting then cocking it up as we misread a guard pattern, or forgot to pack silenced weapons.  However a mission went though, we were always eager to hit restart and strive for a better, neater, cleaner solution to the level – that’s simply what it awoke in us.  With news of a new Hitman on the horizon, we just had to spend some time delving into our favourite instalment (Blood Money), talking about what made it the experience it is, and what we want to see coming in December this year. If you want the YouTube option with full (badly demonstrated) gameplay footage then hit up the video below, and if you just want the audio then go for the podcast option – don’t worry, the video’s not needed to enjoy it, but we recommend it.  We’d love to know what you think the new Hitman game is going to be like so share your hopes and fears in the comments below, via Twitter or Facebook, or even on email.      Feeding BritCaster.com

     2014 was a strange year for gaming – there weren’t many highs, or too many lows, maybe because in the first full year of the life of our new console generation there weren’t actually that many new games.  Until November at least.  How do you sum up what you liked and disliked through the year?  We thought we’d do something a bit different to review our picks of 2014, we’ve gone for what surprised us for being as good as it was; and what disappointed us because it failed to live up to our excitement. Cev, Andy and Matt got together at the end of December to record this Codec Call and talk through their picks of the year just past, and with only a little help from Uncle Grolsch and Auntie Baileys, put together 45 mins of chat that you might find at least a bit interesting… at some point.  You can play along as you listen too!  Answer all these questions correctly and there might be a game in it for you: * What are our most disappointing games of 2014? * Which publisher has upset us more than others? * Is a mmfpsorpg a Russian Otter? * Will Cev ever buy some WD40 to keep his chair quiet? * How many times can we plug our reviews in one podcast? * Could Matt possibly say “absolutely” anymore? * Will Andy still be married when we get to Easter? * What is the correct pronunciation of Passepartout? Send your answers to contact-us@codecmoments.com using the subject line Give Me A Copy Of Watch_Dogs!, the winning entrant will be drawn at random on the 30th January and win a used retail copy of the PS4 version of the game because we don’t want it anymore (can you guess one of our disappointments of 2014?).  Our standard terms and conditions apply.  This competition is now closed, it turns out we actually couldn’t give a copy of Watch_Dogs away…

It’s time for another Codec Call, and this one features a very special guest joining us to talk about the role of the voice actor within the games industry, and how it is changing with advances and demands of technology.      Our guest this week is one of the most prolific voice actors working today, with credits on animated series including The Powerpuff Girls, Ben 10, Johnny Quest and Johnny Bravo, The Tick, The X-Men, Phineas and Ferb and Tamagotchi Video Adventures (if IMDB is to be believed); along with credits in games including Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Doom 3, SOCOM, Bulletstorm, Uncharted 3, Bioshock Infinite and The Last of Us to name a handful. Even if you don’t know her by name, you’ll know her by game as the voice of both Naomi Hunter in the Metal Gear Solid franchise and Commander Shepard from the Mass Effect series. It’s the supremely talented Jennifer Hale! In this interview we cover: * Jennifer’s acting history and her career to date. * The amount of audio recording needed for some games, like Metal Gear Solid. * Mass Effect: the freedom of relationships and how much the actors know at the recording stage, “Femshep”, and the controversial ending of the third installment. * The process of voice recording for games and animation. * Singing! * What the fans are like and how they differ between videogames and the animated series. * The skew of male protagonists in games and the effect on available work. * ‘Where on Earth is Carmen Sandiego?’ * Character preparation across film, animation and videogames, as well as actor input to the dialogue. * Motion capture. * Hollywood actors appearing in videogames, and replacing actors in established franchises. * And a whole lot more! Enjoy! If you’d like to comment on the Codec Call then add something below or tweet us @CodecMoments. Alternatively, find us on Facebook and Google+. And don’t forget to review or rate it on iTunes, Stitcher or TuneIn!

         In this edition of The Codec Call Andy, Matt and Cev get together to discuss their thoughts about what will happen in Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain based on the 2013 Red Band and 2014 E3 trailers.  The suggestion came from @BrandonKirzeder, so you know who to thank for the idea of making these crazy theories public…   WARNING:  May contain mild traces of spoil for Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes and references to N-Sync.   We cover: * What do we know about Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain? * What can we glean/wildly speculate about, based on the trailers? * WHAT?!  LIQUID? * Will the game be released on 8th June? * Is Quiet the sniper, really Chico with a sex change? * Who is Ishmael? * Will Solidus feature? * Will the protagonist be a 4 year old Raiden (probably not, right?!)? * Should we travel back in time and stop N-Sync?   If you want to cross-reference our ramblings, here are the two trailers we’re talking about:   To join in with our wild speculation about Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, or if you think we’ve missed something particularly important to you (like the mark, by a country mile), then please contact us on Twitter (@CodecMoments, @ClinicalAndy, @CevynScott and @SyphiloidMonkey), Facebook and Google+, or post a comment below!  

     Half the Codec Moments team get together to discuss their initial thoughts on the open-world, hack and crash game from Ubisoft, WATCH_DOGS.  In the podcast we discuss: * Aiden Pearce * Gameplay styles * Hacking * Driving (or plowing through pedestrians screaming “I’m so sorry, it can’t be avoided!”) * Side quests * Water cooler moments If you want to wade in on our WATCH_DOGS discussion, if we missed something you think is particularly cool, or got a few things wrong in our excitement, then you can hit us up on Twitter (@ClinicalAndy, @CevynScott and @SyphiloidMonkey), Facebook and Google+, or rant at us in the comments below!

     The Codec Call this week has the team get together to discuss the upcoming release of WATCH_DOGS from Ubisoft Montreal.  In the podcast we discuss: * What we know about the story; * What intrigues us the most; * What we’re most looking forward to; * What we think of the cross-generational aspect; * What our main worries are; * and our poor knowledge of Chicago (and how to pronounce it like a native). If you want to wade in on our WATCH_DOGS discussion, if we missed things or got a few things wrong then you can hit us up on Twitter, Facebook and Google+, or rant at us in the comments below!

     This week we’ve been lucky enough to interview the fantastic Richard Boeser (@richardboeser) from the two man development studio Sparpweed.  Richard, along with Roland IJzermans, works on games that focus on original gameplay and atmosphere, and is partly responsible for destroying your hand-eye coordination in ibb & obb on the PlayStation 3.  Currently working on promoting ibb and obb around the world and developing an insane looking new couch-competitive racing game, called Chalo Chalo. Richard took the time to talk to Andy (@clinicalandy) about developing ibb & obb, working with Sony, Chalo Chalo and Super Game Jam. Have a listen to the interview, check out the videos below, and then head out and buy ibb & obb to challenge your brain and thumbs!   ibb & obb: Chalo Chalo:  

     Games often use situations of unanticipated peril for the protagonist as the basis for the action about to unfold; but how realistic is that?  If you were thrust into an emergency situation with little or no warning, let alone preparation, would you be able to survive on your wits alone?  More importantly, have the games you’ve played taught you anything about survival? On this episode of the Codec Call, Roger (@afro_gear), Cev (@cevynscott) and Graham (@tech_father) are given survival scenarios by the Survival School‘s Jonny Crocket (@survivalcourses).  They will use the skills that they’ve picked up from gaming in an attempt to survive against all odds; hopefully they’ve learnt more than just circle strafing and rocket jumps! The scenarios, which are all based on real-life events, are: * You are driving from Canada to Nevada.  You drive up over the hills and into the mountains.  Your SatNav leads you down an ambiguous road.  Nobody knows which route you have taken, but you are expected at a Hotel in Las Vegas.  It is March and there is snow everywhere.  Your car becomes trapped in a snow drift.  Your travelling companion heads off for help and is never seen again.  You have only packed a small amount of food as you assumed you’d be staying in a motel that night. * You are in Australia and are trekking west to Uluru (Ayres Rock as was).  You set of with a rucksack and enough food to last you for 7 days.  Unseasonal storms flood the rivers on either side of you and the waters join behind you blocking your return route.  Your map is inadequate and you run out of food.  What should you do? * You are flying over the Amazon Jungle when a freak lightening bolt hits your plane and tears it apart.  You are strapped in your seat and fall 2 miles to the jungle below.  The seat hits the canopy the right way up and breaks your fall.  You hit the ground with concussion, a cut arm, a cut leg and a broken collar bone.  You’re in summer clothing and only have one shoe.  You have no idea where you are or where help is.  There is no sign of any wreckage from the plane. Will the team make it out alive to join the next Codec Call, or will Andy (@clinicalandy) have to find a whole new bunch of willing victims recruits?  Join in the discussion by tweeting how you would survive to @CodecMoments using #SurvivalSchool.  You can also detail your survival plan or thoughts in the comments below, or hit us up on Twitter, Facebook and Google+. Survival School was established in 1997 by Jonny Crockett to provide a place of learning for those who wanted to know more about bushcraft and the wilderness. Jonny Crockett still runs most of the courses himself. It is his personal attention to detail and his enthusiasm for the subject that has helped to make Survival School what it is – A place of good fun and good learning. Jonny went on his first survival course when he was 14 years old and has been learning ever since. He has frequently been invited to work with the Royal Marines, the Royal Navy, the Army and the Royal Air Force. However, his style is not military and he teaches with a common sense, logic and down to earth style that is not found in most Survival Schools in the UK. A lot of his techniques he has learnt from around the world where the skills are still used as a way of life. Jonny is a broadcaster, columnist for magazines and author,